Flying Through Snowy Southern California, Virtually

Microsoft Flight Simulator offers an opportunity to explore unique weather conditions—and the pucker factor—before takeoff.

Peter James

Thursday, March 16, 2023 at 07:51 PM ET

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A Carenado G1000-equipped Cessna 182 Skylane in Microsoft Flight Simulator. [Courtesy: Peter James]

Key Takeaways:

The author tested Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020's real-world weather feature by flying in simulated record snow and cold conditions over Southern California.
The simulator accurately replicated complex weather phenomena, including wind shear, ridge lift, snow squalls, and visible icing, closely matching real-world METAR conditions.
Realistic flight hardware, such as the Honeycomb throttle system, yoke, and pedals, significantly enhances immersion and contributes to pilot proficiency.
Modern flight simulators, with their high fidelity weather modeling and realistic controls, have become a valuable tool for both hobbyists and professional aviators.

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Earlier this month, record snowfalls and cold hit Southern California. I grew up in the Los Angeles valley and have always loved flying in the area on any flight sim. One of my favorite places to visit is Big Bear City Airport (L35), perched at over 6,000 feet msl on top of a ridge near lakes and ski resorts. I decided I’d put real weather to the test to see how good it is, compared to the most recent actual METAR.

On this particular day the winds were 250 at 8 gusting 17 kts., 4 miles in mist, scattered at 700, broken 1100, broken 1600. [Courtesy: Peter James]

Conditions were lousy—a snowy scene with snow squalls or flurries about. The radar on ForeFlight showed the snow showers in spots west and southwest of the field. Since live weather runs constantly, I wanted to take a look.